Culture Shock
by Just A Writing Nonny
Summary: Sinbad never brought Ja'far to the Kou; Hakuryuu and Kougyoku want to know why.


**I do not own Magi, but I do own the story. There is a book reference somewhere in this fic, and whoever spots it gets a cookie(and a fic request if they have an idea since I have officially written over 50,000 words I have written for this series in just over a month).**

 **I have an obsession with cultures, and for some reason have a ton of knowledge about languages and cultures. Though my expertise peaks in Norse, Alaskan, and all kinds of European, Chinese is fascinating. Very, very fascinating. I know a lot about dragons, so maybe sometime you'll all get a Magi/Dragon story.**

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There was a reason Sinbad didn't bring Ja'far to the Kou Empire anymore, and Kougyoku and Hakuryuu were about to figure out exactly why. The two cousins had been wondering why, despite the many visits Sinbad made to the Kou Empire, Ja'far never went with him. They had asked around at home, but no one knew, so they figured that on their next visit to Sindria they would need to figure out why. They had asked around the rest of the Generals and their friends, but none had been able to give them a clear answer. Alibaba had speculated it might've been because of Sinbad's jealousy over Kouen and reluctance to share Ja'far, and most people had agreed with him that he was probably right and Sinbad was just being protective.

But, they wanted to know exactly why. It was a bit insulting to the Kou that Ja'far wouldn't go, seeing as literally every single other one of Sinbad's generals had been to the Kou multiple times.

Finally, when the day was almost through, the two curious Kou Royals found King Sinbad and decided to ask him.

"Well, that's simple. Ja'far's busy taking care of Sindria when I'm not here and Balbadd was an exception because I forced him into taking a vacation since he had gotten to the point that he was taking an extremely unhealthy amount of all-nighters in a row and wouldn't stop no matter how much we tried to get him to rest." He chuckled slightly, brushing off the question as it seemed Kougyoku accepted it. But Hakuryuu, he could tell that Sinbad wasn't telling them something, but since he didn't want to mess with Kougyoku's image of Sinbad. He'd inquire about it later if he could, but Kougyoku was dragging him off to go watch Alibaba's last bit of training.

Sinbad sighed as he watched the two Kou Royals walk away, going off to White Aries to try and find Ja'far. He could tell Hakuryuu didn't believe him wholeheartedly, and he didn't blame him. He understood that Hakuryuu was incredibly smart, and so he figured he'd figure out he wasn't telling the whole truth. But, he'd never tell why he really didn't bring Ja'far.

He remembered what had happened like it was yesterday, and he felt the fury of it just as strong as before.

 _A figure pressed against a pillar, the cream colored skirt all that was able to be seen from where Sinbad was standing, other than the person pinning the figure to the pillar. It was Prince Kouen. He could tell that Kouen was kissing the figure, and normally he wouldn't care about other people's romantic trysts, but this was the always-cold Prince Kouen, who was known for never ever taking any women to his bed and instead any harlots offered to him would simply be talked with. So this was very, very interesting. But when Kouen pulled away, he heard something that caught his interest as he noticed that Kouen was covering the figure's mouth with his hand. "You know, my people have a very specific sense of beauty. Women have four points of beauty, and every single girl has at least one. The beauty of their hair, the beauty of their eyes, the beauty of their mouths, and the pure sinful grace of their necks. The more points a person has, the rarer they are. I, myself have only ever met three people with more than two before this. But you, your ungodly beautiful. The palest skin I've ever seen, your wonderfully green eyes that turn a cold gray in anger. Your soft, untamed hair that's as silver as the moon itself. The slope of your neck just tempting to bite. Even your freckles, they are beautiful. Some call them sun spots, you know. The sun and moon all in one." The grin Sinbad could see slip across Kouen's face sent rage through him as he figured out exactly who was pinned against that pillar. It was Ja'far, and he couldn't fight back or else risk a war. Although that rage was nothing compared to what he felt when he heard the next words to come out of Kouen's mouth._

" _That King Sinbad doesn't deserve a beauty like you."_

 _What had happened next was a bit of a blur, and Sinbad vaguely remembered that Koumei and Kouha had to apologize quite a bit for the actions of their brother and for Kouen's molesting his advisor. But he would never ever forget what had happened, and he was careful to never ever bring Ja'far to the Kou ever again._

As Sinbad approached Ja'far's personal office he smiled, realizing that, yes, Kouen was right. He knew he didn't deserve someone as loyal and beautiful as Ja'far, but still Ja'far followed him. When he opened the door to Ja'far's personal office, he reaffirmed that. Ja'far had fallen asleep in his chair, his face serene and peaceful as the light gently fell upon it. He walked over to where his advisor was sleeping and he heard his soft breathing, sighing in relief. Ja'far only really ever made noises in his sleep, however soft, once he was well and truly in the deepest of sleeps. So, he carefully maneuvered to pick up Ja'far, one arm under his knees and the other under the base of Ja'far's ribs. As he walked back to Purple Leo tower, he promised himself he'd never let him go, not in a billion years.


End file.
